One doesn’t have to wonder what the impact is of giving a medal 150 years later. The timing of this was contrived to coincide with the sesquicentennial and gave our nation’s first black President a chance to comment on racial progress with more gravitas than otherwise.

Heck I kind of got goosebumps when they were going through the citation and said, “First Lieutenant Cushing’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his own life are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Army of the Potomac, and the United States Army.”

I think Robert Penn Warren was right the Civil War WAS American history.